This invention relates to a transfer apparatus for transferring a belt-like material forming a festoon portion.
For example, in the tire manufacturing industry, belt-like materials such as carcass plies, belt plies, inner liners and the like are transferred by belt conveyors to be supplied to tire forming drums. The belt-like material is usually paid out from a large diameter roll at a constant speed, while the forming drum is intermittently rotated at a high speed. In prior art apparatuses, there are provided a preconveyor and a postconveyor which are independently driven and spaced apart from each other to form a clearance therebetween, in which a festoon of a belt-like material is formed, which compensates for the difference in rotation between the forming drum and the large diameter roll of the material. Since there is no external force to restrain the festoon portion of the material, centering of the material in width directions is preferably effected at the festoon portion of the material. As a result, centering means has been provided at the position of the festoon portion in the prior art.
In such prior art transfer apparatuses for belt-like materials, as the preconveyor and the postconveyor are spaced and stationary, a belt-like material paid out from the roll must be transferred from the preconveyor to the postconveyor after a preceding end of the material is manually passed through the centering means. Therefore, working efficiency is low and workers are urged to do troublesome working.